-
ARRA
Obama and Congress passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to provide tax cuts and federal funds to create new jobs, save existing jobs, and spur economic growth. The debt then rises to $11 trillion and the deficit rises to $1.4 trillion. -
ACA
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, was signed into law by President Barack Obama. It was designed to increase health insurance quality while making it affordable for more people. It has caused a significant decrease in people without health insurance. -
Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform
This was the response to the Great Recession. Regulated regulatory industries of the stock market to prevent speculation that unfolded into a bubble. This was explored in the movie “The Great Short.” -
Budget Control Act of 2011
The Budget Control Act of 2011 was signed into law, increasing the legal limit on federal government debt in order to prevent default and establishing the United States Congress Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction. This brought conclusion to the debt-ceiling crisis, fueled by the republican and democratic disagreements on the importance of entitlement programs and government funding. -
Black Monday
Major United States stock market indices dropped in value by some two and a half trillion dollars. This was the first time that the U.S has been downgraded in history. -
U.S Senate
In national elections, Republicans take control of the U.S. Senate and maintaining a majority in the House of Representatives. Simultaneously, the president is a democrat, resulting in partisan struggles and unproductive legislative gridlock.
